As the title alludes to,, I have a leak in my 2000 ML 320. I have removed both fenders and the A pillars to replace the sunroof drain lines from just below the A pillar all the way down to the bottom of the fender on both sides. I got rid of those god awfull ell's that terminate up inside the fender and do nothing but collect organic matter and set up like cement. The drivers side is finally dry however the passanger side is sitll getting wet,, not quite as bad as prior to the work but well beyong just damp. I had suspended a large tarp in the trees above the SUV for a while until the wind caught it and sent that down the hill. I ordered a cover ,,,water proff??? so it says but there is still a leak to deal with. So before I start just pulling other stuff apart I was hoping to get some direction on exactly where to start looking next, without the A pillars in place for now the roof drains are working as they should. Any help with this nagging issue is greatly appreciated.

 

i had the same issues with my passenger side and fixed it after watching this video. You will need to replace the drain tube. Just follow the video and it will fix your problem. The engineer who created this drain must of been high on meth

 

Hey Jay
Thanks for that video, actually I had seen that one along with umpteen others.I seem to be viewing more late night videos than sleeping like I should. They alll like to address the roof drains. When I pulled the fenders I did something similar to this Kat. I dislodged the ell's,, yeah those little devils that have that vaganal quality for an outflow. After that I found the lines from the roof were not long enough to work with very eaisly so I pulled them up some from inside, cut them, found some clear poly the same size then joined them with a larger pipe about 6" long that fit real snug. Prior to joining them I used "Locktite 401" instant bond on both ends. then fished them down and through that opening where the ell was located, then all the rest of the way down to right at the bottom inside of the fender. Since the A pillars were delaminating the fabric I have them off to recover. I can see that area now real good and haven't seen water comming down from the top as if the drains were still clogged and overflowing down the inside of the A pillars to get to the carpet that way.
I was told earlirer by someone that there may be a leak comming in from under the black cowling at the bottom of the windshield. I'm hoping some one else has had this issue and figured it out,,, where to plug the next hole.
Here lately I'm starting to feel like the "Little Dutch Boy" with his finger in the Dike. Just seems like I have 2 fingers for 3 holes that are leaking,,never know where to stick it next<<< Ha Ha,,
At first both sides were leaking. After the "FIX" the drivers side is dry and the passanger side is wet but not nearly as bad as I had earlier. At first my drivers side was wet but the passanger side looked like that poor soul in the video.
It looks like a rain event here starting tomorrow for a couple days. Maybe I can get a closer look. So now my 95 F150 has a bad PCM. I pulled that and O'rilleys is going to contact CarID. I went to their site and for my truck they say out of stock. I opened the unit and seems 2 capicators have puked but the board looks real good. I think I'll just hop in that leaking monstrosity and try to find an ele. repair shop to replace them. I'm due for a bit of luck. I'll keep after the Benz too and post something if I can find an actual fix.

 

if you look at the fender there are two holes, one on the top which i think is the drain from the hood/windshield (black cowling) and one below is for the sunroof. I don’t believe there’s a tube from the black cowling. If you trace the first hole from the top you may find the leak you’re looking for.

btw, when you reupholster the A pillar, make sure to tuck the material inside the pillar otherwise you will have the same problem in a couple of years. Once again these fuuucking german engineers couldn’t upholster these cars properly. I live in SoCal and 75% of the MLs I see driving around, I can see their A Pillars sagging.

 

Thanks for the input. Light rain here today and at this point that carpet is dry, plus I' cheated today I got a car cover.Buge/Empire covers.
it was the lower end cover , not the cheepie so maybe that will buy me some time. Plus we live in the NC mountains alone on top of a ridge, lots and lots of trees. I think that cover will also help keep debris from gettting in the Sunroof track and entrance of the drains.
I have not been able to find the exact color to match my A pillars up with the headliner. Having said that, I had a bright idea which is always my downfall. The dash iseems to be charcoal or anthricite So I thought if I could find a good match to that for the A pillar covers then the transition of color would be up at the headliner instead of down at the dash. I actually found on ebay some new unused womens Faux leather pants with tags and Anthricite color. They are at the post office as we speak.
If that color kooks good I'll pull the delaminating fabric, lighthy sand the backing which is hard but has glue that is dusting. After the sanding I might just seal that with clear or primer. Then spray the heck out of that with 3M headliner glue and when it tacks up then lay the Pillar face down on the material and streach while wraping all the way around. If that doesn't turn into my next disaster I'll send pics here. It may be several days due to weather but,,,,I'm GOIN-Fer-IT.
I'll look under that cowl to see what I can find. Thanks again for the road map to that

 

I have recently been introduced to Locktite 401, I was going to see if that will hold the material tucked just one inside edge so I can then apply the headliner glue and after it tac's up streach the material snuggly around the Pillar cover then use 4 smaller/medium screw clamps to press upper and lower wood or plastic strips to hold it till it sets up good, then locktite that edge down on that opposite inside. Somehow I don't think that will "Let Go" ever again.
Ha Ha Ha,,, -The more I have to locate those little hidden prizes, piece, patch and repair stupid stuff I have come to believe at those ****** German engineers are still getting back at us for WW2. I really like my, more newly acquired rugged, off road capiable SUV,,, but that "OFF ROAD" thing is due to being off the road to get parts ordered and repairs done.
Every chance I get, I think I will sidestep that "Superior Engineering" with a little "Shade Tree Wrenchin" The Quest for the perfect Benz continues.

 

loctite would probably work just fine. I also had a difficult time matching the original color of the pillar with other original Mercedes material from the upholstery shop I used to repair them. I almost went with the same color as my dash which was charcoal but I settled with something closer to OEM. You should try buying the materials from Michael’s online and just have it delivered.

 

I may look at Michaels,,we also have a Joanns, a large store/chain which has similar fabrics, artsy stuff etc. they had some "In the neighborhood stuff" but not on the money material. I got thise anthricite womens fake leather pants in from "who else" Ha ha Ebay. 16 bucks new with tags So no soiled linnens hanging right by my nose. Today I had to vacume out my Wood stove and add a couple internal parts,, all better now,, then there was the clean up from all that so I didn't get to look at that color match up. If I looks good,,, yea for me,,, if not,,,I'll keep looking about,, Michaels etc. thanks